Alpha
by Ginavera
Summary: She walked right up to the stranger and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her and gave her a piercing look that she felt all the way to her bones before crushing his lips to hers. Leah ClearwaterxOC
1. The Stranger

Alpha

Alpha

The Stranger

Leah began stripping, mindless of the other two men in her presence. She couldn't even begin to count how many times she'd done this before. First, the shorts wiggled down, next the shirt. She waited for the other two to transform before the bra came off. She tied both the shorts and practical sports bra to her leg and folded her shirt before phasing herself. It was really just habit that she waited for Quil and Embry to phase before she got down to her birthday suit. It was with the younger, more curious boys she had to worry about. Quil and Embry on the other hand, didn't care at all.

"_Leah, what always takes you so long?"_ Embry whined as they all three began loping down the familiar path to the border.

"_Shut up Embry!"_ Leah snapped.

"_Geez, why are you such a… bitch today?"_ Embry replied. Quil sniggered until he caught her look. She sighed. It was going to be a long patrol.

_Have you noticed Leah looks a little fatter today?_ Embry thought before he could stop it. At first she was deeply offended, but then she decided to have some fun.

"_Do you wanna know why I'm bloated and moody__Embry? It's because I'm on my period. You know, the thing girls get once a month that guys don't have to deal with. Yeah, so why don't you shut up and not make comments until you have to deal with one!"_ she thought snidely. It wasn't true of course. She never patrolled, or phased for that matter, while she was on her period, but Embry didn't need to know that. They ran the rest of the way in silence, except for the occasional stray thought that leaked from their control.

Once they reached the small meadow she began giving orders.

"_Embry, you take the south end. Quil, you take the west end. I'll patrol the northeast. You know what to do."_

They split off, each going their separate ways. She took off at a full sprint, concentrating solely on the way the wind felt against her caramel colored fur. The running, the feeling of flying with your feet on the ground, almost made up for everything else, all the negatives of being a werewolf.

As she neared her section she slowed down and devoted her entire attention to the task at hand. They needed to be especially wary. Lately there had been some increased newborn activity. While the pack had almost certainly gotten all of them, one could never be too careful where leeches were concerned.

She was pacing the borderline when all of a sudden she caught a curious smell. It wasn't sickly sweet like bloodsuckers, nor was it one of her pack. It was definitely foreign- and musky, but not in an unpleasant way. More of a woodsy smell than she was used to, with traces of something she couldn't name. Her curiosity piqued. Bringing her nose to the ground, she began tracking where the smell came from. She had gone about half a mile when she heard him.

He was standing in a groove, looking majestic. His head was up and he was obviously sniffing something. He was very muscular and fit, with a coat of midnight black with brown tipped ears and tail. Unfortunately, she noticed none of this. All she saw was an intruder, an unwelcome guest. Her wolf went into overdrive and she pounced without thinking.

He went down with a bark of surprise, but he didn't stay down. He flipped her and nipped her ear in dominance.

_Bad move bud. I'm the Alpha around here!_

With that thought, she let the wolf take over. Soon they were both slinging each other to the ground, neither of them gaining an advantage. She backed up and circled him warily, trying to find a weakness, when she realized what she was doing. Had she really stooped so low as to fight with a wolf? She looked at herself and was disgusted. She hadn't lost self-control like that in ages. She knew better than to give into her primal instincts. She wasn't Paul for God's sake! She gave one last growl for good measure before she turned around to walk away.

As she turned her head, the wind blew into her face, giving her a good whiff of the wolf's odor. She again smelt something a little off about him and suddenly it came to her.

The smell was man! She whipped her head around and stared at the werewolf across from her before she lost her concentration and phased out again.

She sat there stunned, and vaguely realized Quil and Embry were behind her, both in their human forms. The wolf across from her phased out as well.

In the back of her mind she noticed his body was very cut and clean and… hot. There was no other word for it. In the front of her mind she noticed all four of them were naked and shaking with exertion.

"Get some clothes on, then we are going to have a really long talk!" she snapped as she went behind a bush and pulled on her shorts and bra.

She stepped back into the clearing at the same time he did. Embry stood to her left and Quil to her right. They both assessed each other, looking one another up and down, though never quite making eye contact. The stranger broke the silence first, though he was speaking to himself.

"I didn't know girls could become werewolves," he said surprised, under his breath. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Obviously we can. Now that you learned something new that you didn't know 5 minutes ago, please enlighten us as well. Who the hell are you and why are you here?" she demanded. Quil shot her a look, but she purposefully ignored it.

He tore his eyes away from roving over the three of them and looked directly at her.

"I…" he trailed off, because at that moment his eyes locked onto hers, making contact for the first time. His eyes were the most brilliant shade of green she had ever seen. They were bright with excitement and shone magnificently. Her vision tunneled until all she could see was him. At that moment she knew what she wanted, what the only thing she wanted was. She wanted him. More importantly, she wanted to make him happy, to bring fulfillment to his life, to provide for him, and for him to want her back. That became her ultimate goal in life. She saw rather than heard him gasp. Heat pooled in her lower regions and she knew she needed him. She needed him now. She walked toward him with confident steps, eyes never wavering.

Distantly she heard Embry mutter 'what the hell,' before Quil shushed him. She walked right up to the stranger and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her and gave her a piercing look that she felt all the way to her bones before crushing his lips to hers.

Instantly every nerve in her body was on fire. Hot passion gripped her and she clutched onto his shoulders. Their tongues battled fiercely for dominance. She groaned into his mouth, and with a sudden sweeping, smooth move, he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his torso. Her hands traveled up to his hair while his roamed her, getting to know her curves. She gasped for breath and dragged her lips away from his with great difficulty. She stared into his wide, heat filled, and somewhat bewildered eyes, wondering if she looked half as crazy as he did.

He set her down and she backed away. As soon as they lost contact, half of her went missing. She lost something she didn't even know she had to begin with. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and to become composed.

"What the hell was that?"


	2. Something I Didn't Know Five Minutes Ago

Alpha

A/N: Thank you to all who left reviews and added me as a fav or story alert. When I checked my e-mail this morning and I had already gotten some in one day, I started grinning moronically. Still am actually! So once again thank you!

A/N 2: Thanks to my amazing beta Savannah!!

Alpha

Something New I Didn't Know Five Minutes Ago

_She lost something she didn't even know she had to begin with. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and to become composed._

_"What the hell was that?"_

* * *

They stared at each other, and once again she felt the heat pool. Just as she was leaning in for another kiss, she heard a very pronounced, and loud cough.

"Even though I can tell you're having fun, I think we should get to the bottom of this." With Quil's comment, Leah snapped back to her senses. She was Alpha! She needed to be finding out who this guy was, and what his deal was, not planning how long it would take to get to the nearest bed, or nearest piece of ground not occupied. She stamped away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm Leah, Alpha of the Quileute pack. We cover all ground this side of the Rockies. Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked demandingly. He looked surprised at the sudden change in her attitude. He immediately became defensive and drew himself up to his impressive 6'7'' height.

"I'm Alex, and I have no clue what you're talking about," he said harshly. Leah was confused for a moment before trying an interrogative tactic.

"What pack are you with?" she asked, loosening her tone slightly.

"I'm not with a pack," he admitted sheepishly. Embry, Quil, and Leah all looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but they couldn't smell a lie on him.

"How did you become a werewolf?" she asked, careful not to look in his eyes, but in the end she couldn't resist the pull. The brilliant green eyes stared at her mournfully. Feeling the sudden desire to make him better she wanted to tear apart whatever had hurt him, and at the same time fulfill his every need. Instinctively, she went to him and enveloped him in a hug. At first he tensed up, but as she stood there whispering sweet nothings in his ear, she tried to soothe him. Eventually she felt him start to loosen up. After a while she heard another cough. She stepped away and again felt that strange sense of loss, but she shrugged it off.

"How did you become a werewolf?" she asked again gently, her voice low. Behind her she could hear Quil and Embry sniggering, but she ignored it.

"This is going to take awhile. Is there somewhere we can go to talk?" he replied, his eyes lowered.

"Let's go to Jacob's house. I think the whole pack should hear this. After all, we didn't even know that there were others out there." Leah turned to the other two, both of whom were staring with their jaws open. " Embry, Quil, did you have something to say?" she asked icily. Both shook their heads. "Good, then close your fly trap and do your job. Round everyone up. I'll go with Alex and give Jake some time to prepare," she told them. Then, taking hold of Alex's hand, she watched Embry and Quil run off into the woods. She started down the deer path leading Alex away. After a while of walking slowly along the path, Alex stopped her and grasped her shoulder.

"What happened back there? With us?" He looked so much like a confused puppy that she had to giggle.

"What?" he demanded, automatically smoothing his hair.

"It's just that you looked so much like a little puppy dog right then, I couldn't help but laugh." She laughed at him.

"All the ladies tell me I'm such a… dog," Alex replied cheekily, waggling his eyebrows. She laughed outright and hit him lightly on the arm. He growled playfully and hit her back. They both giggled and then she grew sober as she remember his original question.

"As for your first question, I don't know for certain, but I have a strong suspicion. I think I'll be able to answer that better later- at home," she told him speculatively.

He stared hard at her before shrugging and picking up her hand. They walked back to Jacob's house in silence.

She led the way, walking up to the small white and green house Jacob shared with his wife and imprint Melissa. She raised her hand to knock, but before her fist touched the wood, Jacob threw open the door. She let her hand drop and waited for him to say something.

"I smelled the foreign scent." He wrinkled his nose. "Quite strong. Looks like you might have some competition Leah," he said, grinning while Alex blushed and Leah glared. "Come on in. Quil's already here with Paul, Brady, and Collin. We're just waiting on Embry to come with Sam, Jared and Seth." At her questioning look he continued, "I know you're Alpha now, since both Sam and I are gone, but I thought it would be best if Sam were here. He's the best at keeping everyone calm and rational." She just nodded, it did make sense. Picking up Alex's hand, she led him through the foyer and into the kitchen. Everyone was waiting in silence, staring at them, and she felt Alex's hand squeeze her own. She glanced behind her and smiled at the worried expression on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't let them hurt my poor little puppy," she said solemnly, watching a small smile form.

"I'm not worried," he stated, and Leah snorted. He looked at her bemused before continuing. "I'm scared stiff." Even though he whispered, Quil, who had the best ears, heard and barked a laugh and replied.

"We wouldn't dare try anything. Even if one of us could take you down, our own little Leah here would be on them so fast it would make your head and tail do circles around each other. Nobody messes with Leah."

"Or her friends," she whispered to Alex, who gave her a bright smile this time that about made her heart melt, distinctly different from his earlier smile. Right when she was leaning in for another kiss, unaware of the rest of the pack staring at her, Embry burst through the door. She groaned and thought,

_What's up with this? I hate interruptions_. Growling under her breath she stepped away and looked at Embry and the others.

"Alright everyone, take a seat." Alex went to sit in the back, but Leah stared at him until she rolled her eyes and patted the seat next to her. Front and center. He sighed, but took the seat.

"Pack, this is Alex. I'm sure we'll listen to what he has to say… without interrupting," she said coolly, looking each person in the eye until they dropped their heads.

"Alex, why don't you just start from the beginning, and I'll ask questions as needed?" she asked, placing her hands over his. Sam, she noted, followed this movement with his eyebrows raised.

"I was living up in British Columbia, close to Alaska. Working at a local high school as coach part-time, going to school the other part of the time. Since I could only work part- time, the administration decided to hire another coach, making him head of the Athletics Department. It was fine with me since I didn't really have time for coaching anymore. The only thing I requested before being demoted was to be able to help with hiring, which they readily agreed to. As soon as the first candidate walked through the door, I knew we wouldn't have to find anyone else. Emmett Cullen," Everyone in the room flinched.

"What, did you guys… you knew him, didn't you?" he demanded. Leah raised her eyebrow at him.

"How about you finish your story, and then we'll tell you ours?" she asked, rather rhetorically. He raised his eyebrows right back at her, but continued his story nonetheless.

"Anyways, so this guy Emmett Cullen was exactly what we were looking for. Obviously extremely athletic, he was nice, but authoritative. We knew he was right, so we hired him on the spot. At first we didn't see too much of each other, but once football season started, we saw each other everyday after school, coaching. At first it was nothing, just getting annoyed at the smallest things. Then I started to brood. After that, Emmett, I noticed, was treating me differently, trying to never stand next to me if he could help it. That's what set me off. I got so mad one day that I tried to lay him out. That didn't work, instead of busting his face, I broke my thumb, and it infuriated me. I was going for another swing when Emmett got a look on his face, as though he finally figured something out. Then he ran away, fast. Almost as though he were flying fast. After that I got ill, really sick. I went home and lay in my bed, curled up in a ball. I could tell I had a temperature, but I couldn't get up. The more I thought about being sick, the madder I became. I got this idea into my head that it was all Emmett's fault. Somehow I got the energy to storm out of my house. I made it to the woods before I got so angry I just… gave in to my instincts. They told me to run, to go and tear Emmett's throat out. So that's what I did. I was running, on two feet, when I felt sudden pain, and a loud ripping sound. Suddenly I was on four feet, running faster than any other animal I knew of. I was running towards this awful smell. It was sickeningly sweet, when I caught my reflection in a puddle of water. I was a monster. The shock of it shook me out of my rage and I… I think the word you all use is phase? Well I phased out of it, and sat staring at myself. I walked home, naked, not caring who saw. I felt guilty that I didn't get a hold of whatever was making that smell, but I was too confused and tired to figure it out. The next day I skipped school, and I didn't go in to coach later. The day after that, my dad came over. He said the school called him when I didn't go in for class. I just lost it. I phased again and attacked my dad. I had him against the floor in a matter of seconds, when I smelled that sick smell again. Just then, something came flying at me from across the room and tackled me off my dad. I was on the ground, staring straight into Emmett Cullen's eyes. I lunged for his throat, but he got away. He led me outside, into a small storage shed. When I followed him in, he darted out and shut the door, saying he wouldn't let me out until I calmed down and phased back. It took me 3 days to phase back-" He stopped when Sam broke in.

"Wait a second. It only took you three days to phase back and you were by yourself?" At Alex's hesitant nod, Sam let out a low long whistle. Seeing Alex's questioning look, Sam explained.

"It took me two weeks," And that was all he said. After a moment of silence, Alex continued.

"After I had calmed down enough to phase back, the door unlocked and Emmett was there. Once again I smelled that horrible smell, but I figured out it was coming from Emmett. I barely controlled myself from attacking him, but I did. Once he saw I wasn't going to attack him, more people stepped out. Another guy handed me some clothes and waited till I had put them on to introduce us. The guy who had handed me the clothes was Edward, then there was Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle. I still felt like attacking them, but I was calmed down, not by my own doing, however. They took me to their house where they explained about them being vampires. They also explained that I was a werewolf. They said I transformed based on my emotions, and that what had happened was because of them. Then another… creature came down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her name was Bella." If he thought the reaction to the name Cullen was bad, it was nothing compared to the name Bella. Everyone stiffened, and then looked at Jake. He sat at the table, shaking, obviously trying to control himself. After realizing he needed to leave, Jake got up and left the table. His wife Melissa got up as well, following him out the door. There was a brief moment of awkward silence until Alex spoke up.

"What was that about?" More awkward silence followed this question until Leah took matters into her own hands. She was Alpha after all, now she needed to start acting like it.

"Jacob and Bella were really close four years ago. He still blames himself for letting her die. He thinks he should've done something more to prevent it," she explained while the rest of the pack looked at their feet, or the table, or twiddled their fingers.

"Oh."

"Will you finish your story? It's very… enlightening," Leah reminded him.

"Oh yes. Where was I? Oh yeah, then Bella came downstairs and told me about another werewolf pack. She told me how to find it and then they told me to leave, and to stay away from humans. They also said that they would look after my dad, and explain everything to him at the right time. So I left and followed Bella's directions on how to get here. So… yeah… that's pretty much everything," he finished lamely. Leah got up and stretched. She could feel Alex's eyes on her, burning her skin. She ignored it as best she could. She had a job to do first.

"No, not quite everything. We now know the why of you phasing. We just don't know the how." Here she paused, obviously thinking of what she should ask next, "Was your father Quileute?" she asked suddenly.

"No, he was Caucasian," he answered, puzzled.

"What about your mother?"

"I-I don't know. I look Native American, but I don't know what tribe she was from, just that she was Indian. She died when I was little." Instead of saying sorry and pausing, as was proper, Leah plowed ahead.

"Grandparents? Great grandparents? Aunts? Uncles?"

"I don't know, I just lived with my dad. What's with the third degree about my family," he asked defensively. Immediately Leah backed down.

"Sorry, I just get carried away sometimes. The only thing is that we thought only members of the Quileute tribe transformed. We speculated about other tribes, but it was all just theory," she told him frankly.

"Well, I didn't know girls could be werewolves either," he shot back. Instead of raising to the bait, she just grinned.

"Neither did we," she said. At that he smiled as well.

"I've got a ton of questions guys. As much as I hate to admit it, I need help." With that he bombarded them with questions, and they did their best to answer them. They explained what phasing was, how it was done, how to control it. They explained about the vampires and the smell. They explained about 'the rules' and what it meant to be a pack member. They were just getting ready to explain imprinting when Jacob rushed through the door.

"Leeches, on the south border. A pair of them. We'll need everyone." Instantly everyone rushed outside.

"Alex, I need you to stay here," Leah commanded.

"Why? I want to come too. I want to help," Alex demanded.

"I don't know if I can trust you!" Immediately Alex's eyes widened in hurt, and then narrowed in rebellion.

"You can't trust me?" his voice wavered dangerously.

"Alex, that's not what… Look, I don't have time for this. As Alpha I command you stay here at the house." Satisfied he would stay, she began to run off, when he caught her around her arm.

"You can't order me around, highness. You're not my Alpha, you're my mate!" he yelled at her, and then stepped back, shocked at what he said. She was shocked too, but she knew it to be true. She really didn't have time for this.

"We'll talk about this later. If you want to come fine, but if you get hurt, I'm killing you." With that she stripped in record time and phased, not waiting to see if he followed. When the pack caught up to the vampires, it was easy to see they were both newborns. That was bad, really bad.

Leah surveyed the situation before barking out commands.

_Jared, Paul, take the right side of the left one. Quietly go over. Jacob, I want you and Quil on the left side of the left one. Collin, Brady, Seth you take the right side of the right one. Alex and I will take the left. I want everyone to alternate between going for the throat and the legs. Understand?_

_Leah, we have a problem._

_What is it Jacob?_

_I can't hear Alex_.


	3. Miscommunication

A/N: Something was wrong with the formatting of this chapter, but I'm pretty sure it's fixed now. Please review!

Alpha

'Miscommunication'

__

_Leah, we have a problem._

_What is it Jacob?_

_I can't hear Alex._

* * *

_Leah, we have a problem._

_What is it Jacob?_

_I can't hear Alex._

_What do you mean you can't hear Alex?!_

_I'm not connected to him. _Eight other voices agreed.

_Alex?_

_Do you hear me?_

_Yes._

_Can you hear any of the other pack brothers?_

_No._

_Shit!_

What was she going to do?! Of course Alex and the rest of the pack couldn't hear each other. He wasn't part of the pack. But why could she hear him? She shook her head. There would be plenty of time to think about that later. Right now she needed to fix this problem, and fast.

_Can you hear what he says through me?_

_What do you mean?_

_While I'm processing his thoughts, I'm also thinking about them. Try listening for that. Alex say something._

_What? Oh, um, Leah, you're gorgeous. No, that's not what I meant. Damn, this is embarrassing._

Leah ignored his sputtering and instead focused on Jacob.

_Did you get that?_

_Loud and clear! _He replied, silently laughing.

_Alex, did you hear Jacob._

_Yes,_ he replied sullenly.

_Good. On my command, we'll attack as one/ Spread out!_

The wolves silently surrounded the vampires, who had obviously smelled them since they were sniffing the air.

_One, two, three!_

All the wolves attacked. Unfortunately Leah was a split second later than everyone else. The vampire she was supposed to take down locked eyes with her, and charged. She feinted away, but his reflexes were better than most vampires, and he swung around, grabbing her by her waist. He then picked her up and flung her into an oak tree. She hit it hard, tumbling down the branches, all of them poking her until she collapsed on the ground. Immediately, Alex was there.

_Go fight, they need you, I'll be fine. I'll try to keep translating for you,_ she commanded him. Alex looked deep into her eyes before nodding and running off. She felt the pain come on then, threatening to take over her, but she held it at bay. They needed her to stay sane. She could do that for them. She began relaying the commands, but surprisingly, they didn't come from Embry, who was beta, but from Alex. He just naturally shifted into Alpha and assumed the commanding position. She didn't have time or energy to ponder that because she needed to keep focused on Alex's commands and she couldn't do anything else but repeat them in her mind.

They had already gotten one vampire down to the point that he would never rise again, and they were circling the other one, when it spotted her. With a snarl of revenge it came at her. She didn't even have time to think 'this is the end,' She just shut her eyes and accepted her fate. The newborn was upon her when all of a sudden Alex came out of nowhere, tackled it to the ground, and tore its' head off with one bite. She watched transfixed as he snarled,

_Nobody messes with my mate!_

Knowing her work was done; Leah felt all the pain come crashing over her. She gasped for air and then fainted.

Alex looked at her softly before picking her up and carrying her back towards Jacob's house.

Leah woke with a horrible headache that matched her dream. _Well, not necessarily horrible. At least there was a hot guy in this one unlike the last one._

"Hopefully I'm the only hot guy you dream about," Leah yelped, sitting up. She hadn't seen Alex sitting there. She lay back down again, groaning. Instantly Alex was by her side, checking under the covers.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Peering into her face he asked worriedly.

"Your concern is just an excuse to see me naked," she joked. At first he looked at her blankly, but then he smiled.

"Oh, that was, that was funny. Hahaha!" he said sarcastically.

"No making fun of the invalid!" she complained, when Jacob came in. All at once, the events of last night rushed into her mind and she gasped.

"Dammit Alex, you always make me forget my duty. Jacob, report!" she barked, trying to sit up again, but failing because of the pain in her ribs. Finally she growled in exasperation then collapsed on the bed, looking up expectantly.

"What Leah, no heartfelt 'Are you okay Jacob,' or at least a 'Hello?'" Jacob asked wickedly.

"How about if you don't straighten up my foot is going to go so far up you're a-," She was cut off by Alex butting in.

"Why don't you rest? You went through a lot two nights ago. I already had everyone report, while the events were still fresh in their mind," Alex said innocently, but Leah began to see red.

"I'm not some porcelain doll that'll break. I don't need to r… two nights- I've been out two nights? What the hell has ha…! You had the pack report! Oh my god! I don't even know where to begin to be angry at you! I just ERRR! And you Jacob, you know better than to report to anyone other than Alpha! I… ERR! Leave me alone!!" Leah yelled, disconcerted. Both Jacob and Alex had backed up at the beginning of her tirade, but by the end Jacob was out the door and Alex was sitting beside her bed.

"Leah, what's wrong?" Alex asked, brushing his fingers along her cheeks. Putting her hands up the her cheeks, Leah started when she realized tears were flowing down them.

"Why would you do that! How could you!" she yelled, trying to contain her sobs.

"Leah, what-?" Alex didn't even know where to begin.

"I'm Alpha of this pack! Not you! Hell, we've known you three days! Three days, and already the boys respect you! Do you know how long it took me to earn their respect. Three long years of being an absolute hard ass! That's how long! And you get their respect in three days, simply because you're a male, and I'm female. How is that fair! What makes you so qualified? Huh? And then you go playing up the fact that I'm weaker than you! That I need protecting! Well, I don't! I don't need you, or the pack…," Leah had begun by poking her finger in Alex's chest, but by the end she had grabbed onto his shirt, bawling into his chest. At first Alex looked frightened, not sure of what to do. Putting his arms around her, he simply let her cry.

After probably thirty minutes, Leah began to calm down.

"Uh, I must look awful," She gave a watery laugh. "Now I really am acting like a girl, crying and caring about how I look." Alex peered into her eyes deeply before asking.

"What was that about? And I want the truth Leah, not 'nothing,'" he demanded. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. At first she was tempted to say nothing, but she never wanted to lie to Alex. Also, she didn't think he'd laugh at her like some of the others would. So she decided to tell him the truth.

"It's just, that fight shook me up pretty bad. I had a terrible inferiority complex three years ago, where I went through this whole, nothing I ever do will be good enough phase. I grew out of it, but at that fight a few days ago, I was a split second slower than the boys. Not a lot I know, but it was enough that it almost killed me," here Alex turned pale, but she ignored it and went on, "That just reminded me how much weaker I am than everyone else, simply because I was female. The only thing that I had was my being Alpha, because that trumped all. But when I was injured, you took over, not Embry- which is something else we need to discuss- but you. And you were magnificent. You took control of the situation, and did everything right. It was especially impressive considering you've only been a werewolf for a few months. You did a better job with those newborns then I could've. You're Alpha material. Maybe not yet, but you will be. I was… I don't know…" Here Leah looked down in shame, "threatened by that. You're changing me Alex, way too quickly, and I can't keep up. The weirdest thing though, is that I don't care. If you wanted position of Alpha, I don't care, you can have it. That's probably what scares me the most. How easily I'm willing to let go of something I treasure, for you. There I've said it all. And whatever you do, don't laugh at me," Leah finished with a sigh, waiting for anything.

Alex looked thoughtful for a moment before taking Leah's hands in his own.

"Leah, I… wow, this is hard to say, but I know what you're saying. I- when- when that, that leech," he said leech with such venom Leah looked up in surprise, "when that leech attacked you, my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think any thought, save one. 'Don't be dead, whatever else happens, Leah don't be dead.' That was my mantra. After I knew you were okay, or at least going to survive, all I wanted to do was kill the leech, to rip his throat out, for hurting you," Here Alex paused, getting his thoughts together, "Leah if you had died, I would've died too. I know it. And that scares _me_. I've never felt anything at all like this before. Leah, what's happening?" Alex implored. Leah knew it was finally time to explain imprinting, though she wasn't sure how it had happened herself.

"Alex, I think we should wait for Sam before we begin this particular conversation," Leah sighed.

"Leah, we're always waiting. The only thing I know is that when I first saw you, I thought 'wow, she's gorgeous,' but when I looked in you're eyes, I knew, I felt it in my heart 'she's mine.' I need to know what happened. Why I'm so in lo- attracted to you,." he pleaded.

"Fine, but it's not going to be easy," she sighed and readied herself when she had another idea. "Hey, is Jake still here? With Melissa? Or Jared and Kim?" she asked. He looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.

"I don't know. Let me check." With that he got up, gave her one last glance, and then went in search of the others. She sat up slowly, growling at her weaknesses. As she waited for Alex to come back, her mind wandered.

_What am I going to say? I don't even know where to begin. There's so much, but I don't want to scare him off. And I don't even know exactly what's happened. I'm positive I imprinted on him, but I don't know if he did on me. I can't tell the difference, and none of the guys can even get in his head, which is one more complication I don't really want to deal with. Err, I need to make a list of all the weirdness that we need to sort out_

Leah leaned over, wincing slightly at her ribs, even though she could feel them healing, and took out a piece of paper and a pen from her night stand.

**1. Imprinting** _'that'll be a fun conversation'_

**2. Alex taking place as beta in the attack yesterday** _'if it was beta and not Alpha he was taking the place of'_

**3. Alex himself** '_I wouldn't mind discussing that topic all day… which is what we're going to do, actually'_

**4. Alex not being able to hear the pack, and vise versa. '**_though I think we already know the reason tothat_

**5. Alex not having to obey the Alpha.**

**6. Alex's heritage**

**7. The future** '_I hate, HATE this topic. Why can't we just let things roll where they will? Who cares if it leaves the boys in the dust? Whoa Leah, where did that thought come from? Who cares if it leaves the boys in the dust! I care! Or… at least I'm supposed to care. Err, what's happening to me?! I can't take all this split personality going on! I'll add another section to The List._

**1. Imprinting**

**Why I care more about Alex than**- _I can't even write it. Let me try again._

**1. Imprinting**

**Why I can't function as a good Alpha when he's around. **Yeah, that sounds...bad, but not as bad as it did before.

At that moment, Alex walked in, looking contrite, with Jared and Kim following looking annoyed. She sighed, already guessing what had happened, but asking anyways.

"What happened?" Alex blushed, while Jared glowered darkly at him.

"Well…umm… You see I didn't…" She waited as patiently as she could while Alex hemmed and hawed around the question.

"Alex, just spit it out!" she finally barked. Alex glared at her before taking a deep breath and trying again.

"Well, I how was I supposed to know these two were like rabbits. I mean honestly this isn't even their house!" She smiled but, deciding to be mean she asked anyways, "What are you talking about?" she asked innocently. Over Alex's head, Kim caught her eye and smiled wickedly. There was a reason she liked Kim the best, sweet on the outside, but on the inside just as ruthless as Leah herself, and much more cunning.

"I, well I- I caught them," he admitted.

"Caught them? Doing what?" she asked again, still the picture of innocence.

"I caught them doing it in the back room," he mumbled, his face turning cherry. She burst out laughing. She patted his arm consolingly, still chuckling.

"Every single one of the pack has caught them at least twice. It's no secret these two- what did you use- do it like rabbits,"

Jared broke in, "We weren't doing _it_… yet. We were just in a very compromising position. No reason for him to freak out. He didn't even see anything, right?" Jared turned his glare on Alex.

"Of course not," Alex quickly responded throwing up his hands. As much as she loved teasing Jared and Kim, and as she was beginning to figure out, she loved teasing Alex too, they really needed to get focused.

"Alright guys, let's try to remember why Alex had to lose his innocence so early," Here Kim snickered and Leah grinned in response. God, she loved Kim. "Alex had some questions about… us," On the word us she gestured between Alex and herself. Kim understood immediately and pulled up a chair across from Alex, on the other side of Leah's bed. Jared, who obviously had no clue where this was going, followed his wife's lead. Leah resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"This is really awkward for me, but I'll try to explain it thoroughly, so you might get an idea of what's happened. I'll try to make you guys understand. Then maybe we can puzzle this out together," Alex said seriously. Here Leah didn't resist the urge, and she did roll her eyes.

"Alex, shut up before you make an ass out of yourself," she chided.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"'I'll try to explain and see if you understand,'" She said mockingly. "They aren't stupid Alex, in fact they know exactly what it is that is happening between us," She said.

"What?" He asked again. She was beginning to think this was one of the only words he knew.

She turned to the couple on her other side, "Jared… no wait, actually, Kim, can you start us off," she pleaded. Kim smiled and nodded.

"Sam was actually the first one this happened to, but Jared and I were the second. You see, Sam imprinted on Emily, Jared on me, Quil on Claire, Jacob on Melissa, and you on Leah. Or maybe Leah on you. I'm not sure," she said, pausing for a moment to think about it. Alex decided to break in.

"Imprinting? You mean like birds?" He asked, obviously puzzled. Her eyes were beginning to hurt from rolling them so much, but she couldn't help it as she glanced upward.

It was going to be a long day.


	4. Home

Alpha

A/N: Everything in this chapter about imprinting is correct. I researched it on the internet, so take it as you will.

Thanks to my beta Savannah and my friend Kate!

Alpha

Home

"_Imprinting? You mean like birds?" He asked, obviously puzzled. Her eyes were beginning to hurt from rolling them so much, but she couldn't help it as she glanced upward.__It was going to be a long day. _

* * *

"Yes, Alex, just like birds. We all, everyone in the pack, or flock, turn into gigantic birds. We just don't fly, have wings, eat seeds, lay eggs, or grow feathers. But other than that, yeah just like birds," she said sarcastically.

"Hey! No need to be rude or treat me like I'm stupid," He said, properly offended.

"No stupid questions, no stupid answers," she replied snidely.

He eyed her, then hmphed quietly to himself, letting her comment pass. Kim giggled into her hands, and even Jared was grinning.

"What!" Leah snapped.

"It's just, you two are so cute. You fit together perfectly," Kim explained, still giggling. Leah and Alex looked at each other- and began laughing.

"As to your earlier question, not only birds imprint. In fact, almost all mammals do, to a certain degree. Even humans. Wolves actually imprint strongly for mammals. Imprinting in the wild is a survival instinct, which is an ongoing process between a mother wolf and her pups. A wolf pup won't fully imprint on its mother for up to 12 days. After that, it won't recognize any other female wolf as its mother. Imprinting just means that the wolf pup will form such a bond with it's mother, it won't want to leave her side, ever. And when it's hurt, it will go to its mother. It will look to its mother to learn everything it needs to know, from howling to hunting. However, a wolf can imprint on something other than its biological mother, if it's in constant contact with the person before the 12 days," Alex, Jared, and Leah all stared at Kim, making her blush.

"What? I looked it up online when Jared told me about imprinting," Kim explained.

"How can you remember that from high school?" Leah asked, slightly awed.

"It's not something you tend to forget," Kim said softly, and Jared reached over and rubbed her arm.

"Wait, I still don't understand. I defiantly don't think of Leah as my mother," Alex said, confused, again.

"There are few similarities between wolf imprinting, and werewolf imprinting," Kim started, getting into her lecture/teacher mood. They all looked at each other and rolled their eyes before settling down into a more comfortable position. "Wolf imprinting is between a mother and pup, and as I said before, it's a survival mechanism, making sure a pup will learn everything and not wander off. Werewolf imprinting is between soul mates. As far as I can tell, the only similarities between the two imprinting patterns, is that in both, there is an extremely strong bond- the need to be close to your imprint and the desire to please them. That's where the similarities end. Werewolf imprinting goes so much further than that," Here Kim stopped and looked at Jared, before smiling evilly.

"Jared, everything I know about werewolf imprinting is what you've told me. Why don't you tell them in your own words what it's like," Jared glowered at her before turning to face Alex and Leah. He made a face, but continued Kim's train of thought.

"Imprinting goes so far beyond what you've ever felt before. When you see her, or him in this case, there is no other thought more important than that person. You need to protect her, to be with her, to cherish her, and to love her. You're only concerned with making her happy," Jared groaned. "I'm not explaining this very well am I?" I nodded to him, conveying that he was doing a great job. He misinterpreted the nod. "Alright, I'll use Jacob's words, since they so neatly tie everything up. When you see your imprint she becomes your sun, the center you your universe. You're nothing but a moon pulled into orbit. She is like gravity, and you're always pulled closer to her. She's everything, no matter what," Jared finished and heaved a great sigh. Leah stared at him and Kim, afraid to look at Alex, afraid to see what he really thought of that.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore, and she looked up. She was slightly surprised that Jared and Kim had left. She hadn't seen them leave, even though she had been staring at them the entire time. It was a testament of her anxiety that she didn't notice anything around her. Leah was generally a very detailed person. Out of the corner of her eye she could just make out Alex, sitting there. She heaved a sigh and gathered her courage and looked over. Sitting there, he stared out her window, obviously somewhere else, lost in his own thoughts.

"Hello, earth to Alex," she called teasingly. He didn't respond. "Hello… Alex, you there?" she tried again, to no avail.

"ALEX!" she yelled right in his ear, and he jumped.

"Sheesh woman, what is your problem?!" he demanded.

"I called you name like a bazillion times! You didn't respond, so I had to resort to something drastic," She replied acidly. He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Bazillion?" He questioned. She blushed but met his gaze.

"Yeah, a bazillion, do you have a problem with that?" she challenged.

"No, none at all," he said, then mumbled something under his breath.

"What did you say?" she asked caustically, folding her hands over her chest.

"Well, I was just saying how I didn't think 'bazillion' was a word," he answered smugly, thinking he had won. She looked at him, her mouth agape.

"Are you for serious?" she demanded, looking for some sign of a joke.

"Well, it's not a word," he replied candidly, shrugging.

"Oh yes it most certainly is," she retorted, snorting.

"No it's not,"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not!"

"I'll prove it." With that Leah tried to jump up to get her dictionary, momentarily forgetting that she was critically injured.

"Ahh!" she cried, falling back onto the bed. Instantly, Alex was there, holding her hand, making sure everything was all right.

"Shut up and just get my dictionary," She ordered through gritted teeth. Alex stared at her in shock before grinning and shaking his head, but getting up to get the dictionary nevertheless. She flipped through the crisp white pages before getting to the 'B's.

"Ha, told you so," she said, smirking, while Alex looked murderous.

"Whatever," he said darkly.

"Aw, don't be such a bad sport. I won fair and square!" she returned. Alex quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I wasn't aware we were playing a game," He said evenly. Leah stared at him before shrugging.

"Last time I checked we were. Didn't you get the memo," she responded cheekily. Alex sighed in exasperation before throwing his hands up in the air.

"Fine you win," Here he paused, giving her the once over, "But next time I'll be sure to win." Leah blushed beneath his gaze.

"I always win at English!" she muttered, trying to pretend she didn't understand what he meant. That made him lose his concentration and he smiled.

"Always?" He asked amused.

"Yeah, always. Actually, before the whole werewolf thing, I wanted to be an English teacher," she told him. He looked at her, shocked.

"You… a teacher?" he asked incredulously.

"Why do you find that so hard to believe?" she demanded, stung by the unspoken accusation.

"Well, your patience isn't quite… up to par for dealing with kids," he said frankly.

"I'll have you know that I was very sweet, and patient, and good with kids before S-" Here Leah cut herself off, cursing herself for her loose tongue.

"Before what?" Alex asked, curious. Leah sighed, realizing she'd have to tell him the story sometime.

"Before what Leah?" Alex demanded again after a few moments. Leah glared at him for a moment.

"Just hold your hackles. This is a long story. I need to collect myself," Leah snapped. He folded his hands and leaned back in his chair, watching her expectantly. Leah also leaned back against her pillow, and closed her eyes, remembering.

"Before Sam Uley broke my heart," she whispered, hating what came next.

"Sam?!" Alex started in surprise, sitting up.

"Don't interrupt me," Leah ground out, cracking one eye open. He eyed her warily, but leaned back in his chair anyways, without saying anything. She almost smiled.

"I was a senior in high school. Eighteen, beautiful, happy, carefree, and very much in love. Sam was fresh out of high school, taking a year off from college. Sam and I had been dating since the end of my sophomore year, his junior. We were the 'it' couple. It was assumed that we would get married one day. We were with each other constantly, and we enjoyed every second of it."

"Enter Emily. She's my second cousin you know. We were best friends. Always over at each others houses, we told each other everything. In fact, we had been discussing Sam proposing to me. She thought he'd do something big and fancy. I thought he'd do something small and simple."

"Then he disappeared. Everyone was frantic to find him, but especially me. I didn't sleep at all, those two weeks. Every day and night I was doing something for the search effort. I refused to accept that he was dead. Then he came back. At first I was ecstatic. I wanted nothing more than to be with him. But he- he was different. Not just physically, though that would've been enough, but emotionally. He was distant, and every time I'd touch him, he'd flinch away. I didn't know what to do, how to help. Emily was good at dealing with me dealing with Sam. I decided to ask her to come over and help."

"Sam was at my house when Emily came over. Instantly, his eyes were drawn to her, he watched her every move. I noticed, but Emily was oblivious. I thought it was something little, so I just ignored it. A week later, he took me for a walk through the forest. I thought he was going to propose." Alex felt himself getting sick, watching Leah's pain grow in her eyes. He listened to the story in horror, knowing how it ended.

"We stopped only a little distance from the house. He opened his mouth to say something, but I jumped the gun. I told him yes and jumped on him. He pushed me away, looking tortured. He looked me in the eyes and said slowly, 'Leah, I think we should brake up.' I was crushed. I became bitter and sarcastic. If I couldn't be happy, then nobody could be happy. I forgot how to smile."

"Emily was on my side… at first, furious with Sam. He continued to pursue her. Then there was the accident, and she couldn't refuse him any longer. I understood, but it didn't matter, it still hurt."

"Remember, at this time, I didn't know anything about werewolves or imprinting. To me, he was just a heartless bastard. Then I phased. It was terrible, to feel the love Sam feels for Emily, knowing how close I was to that same thing. That first year I made the whole pack miserable. Eventually I got over it, and the rest is, well… history," she finished, shrugging.

"Is it okay that I want to tear Sam's face off for hurting you?" Alex asked, half jokingly, half serious.

"Yes," Leah said simply. The both grinned at each other. Leah was glad that she got that over with, and strangely enough, she felt relieved she had told Alex. It was like a weight was lifted off her chest.

"So, any past loves you'd like to tell me about?" Leah asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"Why?" Alex teased.

"No reason," Leah replied quickly. Too quickly.

"Ah Leah, you flatter me with your jealousy," Alex said, still teasing.

"Just answer the question," Leah grumbled. Alex chortled.

"I've had girlfriends before, but I've never been in love," he told her gently. Leah sighed in obvious relief, making Alex chuckle. Leah looked around the room, smoothing her blankets and wish she were in her own room.

"Alex… will you take me home?" she asked. Alex looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you lived here?" He asked, confused. She stared at him wondering if he was being funny or serious. One look on his face told her he was being serious.

"You think I live with my brother and his wife at 22?' she asked incredulous. Alex just gave her a look that said, 'yeah, what's the problem with that?' It was her turn to laugh.

"Alex, I live in my own house. Granted, Seth lives with me, but we thought it would be safer for mom that way," she told him.

"Seth lives with you? Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Seth is my brother you dork," she said, laughing at him once again. " Alex, you've made me laugh more in three days than I have in a year, so I thank you," she told him lightly. Alex glared at her.

"Most defiantly not on purpose," he moped. "So, how're we going to get you home?"

"I have a car at my house, but let's just borrow Jacob's," she decided. "His keys are in the desk by the refrigerator. Go get the car started, and I'll be down shortly," she directed him. Alex rolled his eyes at her commanding attitude but obliged anyway.

As soon as Alex left, Leah began through examination of herself. First, she felt for any unknown injuries. Finding none she moved on to test her ribs and legs, both of which had been broken. Though still sore, they were no longer broken, just fragile. A benefit of being a werewolf. She then went over her mental inventory, finding herself lacking. There had been to much going on too quickly, and she frowned at how she had dealt with it all. Leah decided that later she would need a long bubble bath, classical music, dark chocolate and a big journal. Right now however, she needed to concentrate on remembering how to walk.

_Okay Leah, you can do this. First things first, sit up. _Leah proceeded to follow her own advice, and she sat up slowly. Nothing too traumatic happened._ Now then, swing your legs over the side of the bed. _Again, everything went without a hitch. _Now put weight on both feet equally and raise yourself off the bed. _Leah managed to raise herself off the bed and put weight on her legs for all of about… three seconds before she collapsed on the ground.

She swore softly and herself before crawling to painfully to the dresser where her clothes lay. The only problem was getting the clothes down. As much as she stretched and strained, she was just too short on her knees to reach the top. Leah sat down with a huff and closed her eyes annoyed with herself. After all, Jacob had been running after three days of his accident, and she still couldn't stand. So here she was sitting in the middle of a guest bedroom with only a bra and underwear on, moping.

_Leah, you're losing your touch_, she thought, annoyed. She closed her eyes and waited for Alex to come back.

She didn't have to wait long.

"What the hell Leah? What're you doing?" Alex snapped, startled to find her on the floor. Leah took a breath and counted to ten before responding.

"I was trying to get my clothes on. Obviously it didn't work," she replied evenly, trying to keep her cool for once. Alex huffed.

"Why didn't you wait for me? What if you had hurt yourself!" Alex replied, still aggravated.

"Alex… shut up and calm down," Leah barked, the counting trick not working anymore.

"Seriously Leah, you need to act more responsible! Sometimes I wonder if you care about yourself at all!" Alex retorted. Leah saw red.

"Oh-my- god! I can't believe you just said that! 'You need to act more responsible,' come on a get a grip! I tried to put my clothes on, not fly off three story building!" Leah shot back. Alex glared, and recognizing that he wasn't going to win this one, he tried to appease her.

"It's just, Leah, I don't want to see you hurt," Alex said softly. Leah sniffed, not going to be lured in this time.

"Whatever, just take me home," she said. Alex sighed and handed Leah her clothes. She put them on and looked up at him expectantly. He stared back, confused. She rolled her eyes.

"What? Did you need something?" Alex asked stupidly.

"There was a reason I couldn't get my own clothes. There is also a reason that I'm still on the floor. What is it?" she asked sarcastically. After moment of thinking, Alex finally got it and he bent down and picked her up under the knees.

"This is so humiliating," Leah muttered. Alex chuckled.

"I rather like this, having you dependent on me. Perfection would be if I could figure out a way to shut you up sometimes," he told her, carefully not looking down at her as he descended the steps. Leah smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

He settled her in the front seat and buckled her in, much to Leah's amusement. He then got into the driver's seat and turned the ignition.

"Are we ready to go home?" he asked, backing out of Jacob's driveway. "Which way?"

Leah responded mechanically, her mind far away, thinking of home.

_Our home, I like the sound of that._


	5. Fun and Games

Alpha

A/N:Thanks to my awesome beta Savannah!Also, this chapter is superlong, that's why it took so long to update, so sorry. The conflict/plot will be introduced in the next chapter. this is fluff that needed to happen!

Alpha ch.5

Fun and Games

_Leah responded mechanically, her mind far away, thinking of home._

_Our home, I like the sound of that. _

* * *

Leah must have dozed off during the short ten minute ride from Jacob's house to her own, because the next thing she knew was Alex unbuckling her and carrying her to her room. He laid her down gently and she snuggled under the blankets, drifting off again before even waking up.

The next time Leah woke was under much less pleasant circumstances. Alex was yelling and cursing like he was dying. At first, Leah was worried, thinking something was wrong. She sat up, getting ready to go see what was happening, but then laid back down, shrugging. If something were really wrong, Alex would come and get her. She meant to go back to sleep, feeling exhausted, but the growling in her stomach had a different idea.

Leah got up slowly, thanking her lycanthropy for her healing powers. Having had both legs broken, plus some ribs, three days ago, she was already able to walk. While making her way to the kitchen, her body alerted her to a more immediate problem than her hunger. Instead of continuing on to the kitchen, she made a detour into the most important room in the house. The bathroom.

After taking care of her necessities and brushing her hair out, she paused to look in the mirror. Leah noted her haggard appearance, yet there was something different. Something that lightened her face and made her… well, beautiful. She stared at herself, trying to figure out what was causing her hair to shine and her hollow cheeks to fill out, until she heard yet again more cursing coming from a certain person down the hall. Leah sighed and decided she should go investigate this time.

"Alex what is going on…" Leah began, making her way to the kitchen, when she had to stop and admire the disaster area that had previously been her kitchen. Alex was standing at the counter, examining one of her cook books intently. Nothing wrong with that- the thing that got Leah was how much flour he was covered in.

Alex was white from head to toe, and every time he moved some flour would shake right off. Not only was Alex covered, but so were the counters, the chairs, and the floor. Leah just stared, incredulous. She didn't know whether this was funny or… very, very frustrating. Alex, sneezing as he inhaled some of the flour decided the answer for her. She burst out laughing.

Immediately, Alex's head whipped around, making a small little snowstorm, causing her to laugh even harder. Leah bent over double, her breath coming in gasps from laughing. At first Alex looked at her concerned, obviously wondering if she had finally lost it altogether, before he looked down at himself and cracked up as well. After ten minutes of laughing, Leah finally got calmed down enough to ask an important question.

"What the hell happened?" she asked. Alex looked at her sheepishly before blushing and answering.

"I figured you would be hungry when you woke up… and, well, I know cookies always make me feel better." he said, trying to defend his masculinity, but failing miserably by having a light blue apron on. Leah gawked at him, nonplussed.

"Wait, a minute, you were trying to make me cookies?" she asked dubiously. Alex nodded. Leah gazed at him, touched. The last male to make her cookies had been her father. The silence grew as Leah continued to stare at Alex. After about a minute Alex began to fidget under the intense scrutiny. Finally, Leah took pity on him and started to brush his hair out with her fingers.

"I didn't even know I owned this much flour," she said disbelievingly. Alex looked down at the floor.

"What?" Leah asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I had to make a trip to the grocery store," Alex admitted. Leah snorted.

"Have you ever cooked or baked at all before?" Leah inquired, curious to the answer.

"Yes!" Alex shot, but at her gaze, continued, "I think the last time I baked cookies… I was ten, helping my dad for a school project." Leah chuckled again, and got a rag and began to wipe his face off gently. Again, a silence grew, but this time not an awkward one, but more of a heated one. She noticed how close they were standing, barely five inches away. She blushed at the proximity, but refused to scoot further away, and continued to wipe Alex's face gently. He didn't really have any flour left on him, but she just enjoyed the rhythmic motion, and feel of his face. Alex's eyes fluttered closed and he tipped his head back, causing Leah to have to get even closer to him to reach his face, putting one hand on his chest to balance herself. Leah could feel her passion rise, but before she did anything rash, she hurriedly stepped away. Noticing Alex's hurt look, Leah decided on a compromise.

"You were right. I'm starving! Let's order some pizza, and we can bake some real cookies!" she said lightly. Alex readily agreed. So while Alex looked up the local pizza place in the phone book, Leah began cleaning up and getting everything ready for good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies.

"They said the pizza would be about forty-five minutes," Alex called from the phone. Leah nodded her agreement.

"That'll be perfect timing. Alright Alex, the first thing we do is wash our hands," she said, already washing hers. Alex looked confused but washed his anyways.

"Old habits die hard," Leah explained. Alex still looked confused.

"We wash our hands so we don't spread germs and get sick. I said it was an old habit, because honestly, how often do werewolves get sick?" she clarified.

"Now we get down all the materials we need and assemble them together.That translates into, you get all the bowls I can't reach and I'll assemble them," she instructed.

"Assemble? What- why do we need to assemble them?" Alex asked.

"So they're ready to be used," Leah replied, trying not to be sarcastic. It didn't work very well.

It went on this way until they got to beating all the ingredients together. Leah stood anxiously over Alex's shoulder, ready to intervene in case anything went wrong.

"Listen carefully, this is extremely important. You turn the beater on low first, then put it in the batter slowly. Afterwards you can change it to high. Understand?" Leah commanded. Alex just nodded, a look of deep concentration on his face. Before Leah could blink, he had already messed it up.

"Alex, no, don't turn it on!" Leah shouted, but it was too late. Alex had turned it on high while the beaters were in the batter, causing it to spray everywhere. Leah groaned in defeat.

"How you ever feed yourself, I'll never know," Leah stated, ignoring the mess and finishing the cookies herself. Alex stayed with her as an 'honorary cook's assistant,' meaning he was allowed to lick the bowl. At last, the cookies were in the oven and they had fifteen minutes to wait. Leah leaned up against the counter and faced Alex.

"I never thanked you for saving my life, did I?" Leah asked bluntly, cutting right to the chase. Alex blushed again.

"There is nothing to thank me for," he replied. Leah shook her head.

"Without you, I wouldn't be able to be standing here having this conversation," Alex opened his mouth to interrupt, "No, let me finish. This is hard enough as it is. Alex, I thank you so much for saving my life. Not once, but twice. I'll never repay the debt I owe you," she told him meaningfully. Alex gazed at her thoughtfully before he took her hands in his and looked down at her.

"There is nothing to repay, but if there was, having you here, and being able to do this, would be payment enough." And with that, Alex's mouth descended on hers.

Instantly, Leah's insides turned to jelly, and she gripped his strong shoulder's, afraid of falling down. This kiss wasn't like their pervious one. This one was slow and searching, as if their mouth's knew that they would have forever to get to know one another. Alex hiked Leah up and sat her on the counter so that they could have better access to each other. Leah broke the kiss off, needing to breathe. Her hands crept up to Alex's neck while his were wrapped languidly around her waist. He gazed at her, before bringing his head down to her neck. Leah gasped and then moaned as his lips found her pulse point. After lavishing attention to her neck, he started to kiss his way up, starting at her chin. He was on her cheek when she heard him make a noise.

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"Cookie dough," he responded, kissing it off her face with his small butterfly kisses. Leah leaned her head back against the cupboards and sighed. Alex was slowly making his way back down her face, when he stopped right above her mouth. Grinning against her skin, he skipped her mouth and continued downward, making Leah groan in desperation. She felt, rather than heard him chuckle. Leah wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to pull him closer. This time it was him that groaned, and Leah loved having the power to do that.

She jerked his head off her collarbone and seared his lips with hers. This time the kiss wasn't slow and gentle, but needy and desperate. She wanted to show him what she couldn't tell him. At first Alex was surprised at her intensity, but after a moment, he threw himself into to wholeheartedly. His hands wandered up and down her back, leaving small trails of fire, while her hands somehow became entangled in his hair. It reminded her of their first kiss, yet this time they didn't have an audience.

Leah gasped as she felt his hands at her shirt, but she didn't stop him. Somehow Leah managed to have a lucid thought that cut through the daze of heat.

_Wow, Alex is talented. He hasn't even broken the kiss, yet he's taking off the shirt._ Leah thought fleetingly.

Alex ended up leaving the shirt halfway on, taking off only enough to get his hands under it. When Leah felt his skin against her skin, she bucked against them, causing both of them to startle at her response. He broke away from her lips, and smiled smugly at her through swollen lips. Then slowly, deliberately, he swept his fingers across her chest, staring into her face the entire time. She arched back and moaned. If possible Alex's smile got even bigger. He did it again and again she bucked, but she was getting frustrated. Leah had a need, and that need was Alex. She took a shaky breath, trying to steady her nerves, before throwing the rest of her shirt off and launching herself at him.

Alex braced himself, but that didn't stop him from tumbling to the ground with the force her pounce. They rolled on the floor, neither of them willing to let go. She clung to him while he righted them. After some rearranging, Alex straddled her, one leg in between her thighs, and the other on the other side of her leg. His gaze raked over her and she shivered at the unbridled lust she saw there. His mouth came upon hers once more, and the war was started again. Just as she started to pull his shirt over his head, Leah smelled something acrid. At first she thought it was smoke, but not quite. She paused what she was doing and sat up, Alex still straddling her. He leaned back slightly and she sniffed deeply. Leah determined something was defiantly burning. Not fire burning, in fact it almost smelled like burnt-

"The cookies!" Leah yelled in horror, pushing Alex off of her, scrambling to get to the stove. She crawled over to it, took a pan holder and opened the oven door. Immediately, noxious smoke poured out and Leah coughed and took out the cookie sheet, closing the oven door behind her. She turned the oven off when she noticed the timer. It had been going off for a good ten minutes, and neither of them had heard a thing. Leah smiled ruefully at that. Alex got up with a sigh and began fanning all the smoke out, while Leah assessed the damage.

_Cookies, inedible, and well… yuck! Cookie sheet, unusable, needs to be thrown away, soon. Oven, looks okay, smells a little funny. Smoke detector… get a new one._

Leah was throwing the cookies away when she heard another ring. She glanced at the timer, thinking maybe she had forgotten to turn it off. It wasn't the timer ringing. Leah shook her head, wondering what it was, before she realized it was the door bell. She had forgotten the pizza! Leah ran to her purse to get the money and then ran to the door and opened it.

Her nineteen year old brother Seth was standing there, with a surprised look on his face, holding three pizzas in one hand.

"What? Here, give me the pizza," she snapped, exasperated. Seth continued to stare, before he dropped his eyes and turned his head away, laughing loudly.

"What is the matter with you!" she cried, wondering if he had gone crazy. He just continued laughing. She looked down, wondering if she had forgotten to put clothes on or something. Leah gasped when she saw she really had forgotten to put clothes on. Leah, started to chuckle as well.

"Just wait here a moment, and pretend you saw nothing," she demanded. Leah raced to her room, wondering where her old shirt was. She fished a new one out of her closet. She snapped up, and was heading back downstairs when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair, completely disheveled and impossibly tangled and there was cookie dough in it and on her face. Her lips were swollen so big and red they looked almost drawn on. She had hickies all down her neck and chest. No shirt on, and flushed cheeks with bright wide eyes. She looked like someone who had 'rolled in the hay,' and was going back for a 'tumble between the sheets.' Leah eyed herself critically, slightly embarrassed her brother had seen this, but over all, she decided she liked this look. She didn't want to go back to drawn face and pinched eyes. If it took Alex and a 'rollicking' good time, then she was going to keep both around.

She hurriedly put her top on and sprinted downstairs. Seth was in the kitchen, looking around with mild interest. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he began laughing again. Leah was never going to hear the end of this.

"I want this kitchen cleaned up before I get off work tonight," he paused his chortling and looked around, getting a wicked gleam in his eye, "Please tell me if we end up with a new roommate. I refuse to share my room. So if he is going to stay with us, he'll be 'sleeping' with you," Seth chortled. Leah rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, take the money and go," she barked, all but pushing him out the door.

"One more thing, if you two are…busy, hang a tie, or sock or something. I promise, I won't disturb you," he snickered. Leah slammed the door in his face. She leaned her back against the frame and sighed, when she spotted Alex looking at her guiltily.

"Where the hell were you?" she snapped, more that a little miffed he left her to fend off her brother by herself.

"Sorry?" Alex mumbled, the picture of contrite puppy. Leah just sighed in exasperation.

"For your punishment, you shan't have any cookies," Leah told him, trying to keep a straight face and a terrible British accent. It didn't work. Alex stared at her, his mouth twitching, obviously trying his hardest to keep from bursting out laughing. Leah stared back, trying equally as hard, and almost as on cue, both of them busted out laughing at the same time. Leah staggered over to Alex and clutched his arm, wheezing.

"Come on, puppy, let's get the kitchen cleaned up," Leah said, dragging Alex to the kitchen. When he tried to duck away, she just tapped him on the shoulder and quirked an eyebrow at him. He grinned at her ruefully before picking up a broom out of the cupboard and beginning to sweep.

They had almost finished cleaning the kitchen when the phone rang.

"Yeah?" Leah replied into the speaker, distracted by a stubborn spot of burnt…something.

"Hey, it's Jacob. Listen, the Pack is going to have a bonfire tonight, and before you ask, no there won't be a storytelling. Dad is going fishing with Charlie. So do you want to come and bring loverboy with you? We'll be sure to show him a good time," Jacob finished, raising his voice suggestively. Leah put down the sponge and grasped the phone lightly.

"Two things, if you ever call Alex loverboy again, I'm going to neuter you. Second of all, the only person who'll be showing Alex a good time is me," she said forcefully, causing the voice on the other line the chuckle.

"So you'll be there?" Jacob asked, just to make sure.

"Of course," Leah replied. They both said their goodbyes to each other and hung up. Leah turned to face Alex.

"So, how do you feel about going to a party tonight?" she asked wickedly.

Leah pulled up to First Beach in her Jeep. She checked her hair and makeup in the mirror and grabbed her purse. She was stepping out of the car when she noticed Alex was still buckled in.

"You coming?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows impatiently.

"Yeah… it's just, I don't know, something doesn't feel right," Alex explained. Leah glanced around at the quiet scene. The most disturbing thing, as far as she could tell, was Embry and Jacob wrestling each other shirtless on the beach. She inhaled the sea air, and slowly exhaled. Nothing. Suddenly Leah grinned knowingly.

"Don't worry poor little puppy dog. I'll protect you from the big bad wolves," she said mockingly, a wicked gleam in her eye. Alex peered around once more, before focusing on Leah. He just rolled his eyes at her and gave her a wry grin, hopping out of the door.

Leah gathered Alex's hand lightly in hers, marveling at how… right it felt. She concentrated on the heat of his palms, gently emanating and flowing into her own hands. She felt acutely, the spot right below his knuckles on the inside of his hand, where calluses had formed. She quickly brushed her fingers over them, amazed at how erotic that simple motion was. When she was with Alex, she felt completed and overwhelmed at the same time. Leah shook her head.

_This is going too fast. I can't keep up. My body is saying go, but remember what happened last time Leah. I just need to cool it_. Leah thought, feeling the internal struggle of wanting to keep going like this forever, but knowing realistically that at some point it would end. It always ends.

Nevertheless, Leah couldn't recall ever feeling so safe, secure, or even happy, in her whole life. She supposed it was because of Alex. Leah couldn't imagine ever wanting to be any where else than where she was right at this moment, holding Alex's hand, walking in a silence so complete, that words weren't needed.

Leah's intense thinking was interrupted when suddenly Alex pulled his large hand out of hers, and swung it in front of her. Leah was momentarily stunned, on one hand at the suddenness of the movement, but also at how bereft she felt when she was no longer touching Alex.

Slowly she looked up, gasping as she realized what had happened. Alex's hand was still in front of her face, though no longer empty. In it, he held a baseball. If it had hit her in the head, then she probably would not be standing right now. Every nerve in Leah's body tensed up, in fear and anger.

"What the hell! Who threw that ball?" she yelled down to the guys on the beach. Nobody confessed, so she stormed down to them, throwing her hair back off of her face.

"I swear to God! You complete idiots! Do you ever think? Ever?! Sometimes, I just… ERRR! What's the matter with you?!" she railed at them, looking mostly at Paul and Jared. Each one of their eyes dropped to the ground.

"Do you have any idea of what could've happened if Alex hadn't had demon-like reflexes? Well, here, I'll tell you what would've happened. Jared, you can throw a ball, around like, 200 mph, right? So, if Jared had indeed thrown the ball, it would've hit my head with incredible force. Not only that, but I wasn't even aware of what was going on, so I would've been unprepared for the impact. Right now, I would be in the hospital with a serious concussion… or worse. Even with the super healing powers," Leah said, getting purple from shouting so much. She felt Alex come up behind her and rest his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, a wave of calm came over her, and she took a deep breath.

"It's okay Leah, I'm sure it was an accident. Right?" Alex asked dangerously. It was only then that she noticed how pale Alex had gotten. She took his hand into her own and made soothing circles on the back of his hand. Both Collin and Brady nodded vigorously, but the rest of the gang was too ashamed to do anything.

"So, who did throw that ball? It was going wicked fast," Alex asked casually, too casually. Instantly heads jerked up, relieved to feel most of the tension dissipate. She looked at Alex quizzically, wondering where he was going with this.

"Really, how fast do you think it went? I've been working on the throw for ages. Now I just need to get the aim right," Paul said, admitting it was himself that threw the ball by his eagerness.

"I'm not sure how fast it was, but I've just got to try to beat the guy at wrestling that threw that ball with that much force. He must be pretty strong," Alex said slyly. Leah groaned, knowing that nobody in her Pack would fall for such a stupid trick. Anyone who did deserved to get their ass beat. Of course, Paul wouldn't step down from a challenge.

"Where and when and how?" Paul asked, flexing his muscles. Leah squeezed Alex's hand painfully hard, trying to warn him how votile Paul could be. If anything, Alex's grin just got wider.

"Now, right here, anything goes," Alex said cryptically. Leah shook her head and sighed in defeat, thinking about how stupid boys were.

"Seth, go get Jacob. He's up making the fire. Ask him to ref for us," Paul said, his gaze never wavering from Alex's, trying to stare him down.

_Good, Jacob'll probably be the only one who can pull them off one another if things get too rough. God, guys are such…guys!_

Alex had already stripped to his shorts and was stretching out by the time Jacob got to them.

"What's going on here?" Jacob asked amusedly. Leah snorted in disgust.

"Guess," she said. Jacob surveyed the situation before replying.

"Paul did something stupid, and got challenged to a fight by Alex?" he said, hitting it on the head.

"Yep. Paul threw a baseball full speed at me, even though I wasn't paying attention. If Alex hadn't caught it before it hit me, who know what might have happened," Leah explained. Jacob gave a low whistle before stepping into the center of the circle that had formed. Both Alex and Paul were on the outside, eyeing each other.

"Alright, just so everyone knows the rules. Nothing lethal, nothing lasting, and no phasing. Got it?" he demanded, looking at both of them, his eyes lingering on Alex. Alex just nodded grimly, though his eyes shone with excitement. Leah stepped over to him.

"Watch out for Paul. He's our best wrestler. However, he favors his size, and usually underestimates his opponent. I know from experience," she whispered in his ear. Alex nodded and kissed her on her forehead. Around them, the rest of the Pack hollered and hooted. She gave them the finger. Alex chuckled lightly before stepping into the circle. Paul was already inside, waiting.

"This is over when the other is on the ground for five seconds or more. Begin" Jacob commanded, scurrying out of the way.

Instantly Paul dropped into a crouch, watching Alex's every move intently. Alex, for his part, just shifted his weight into a balanced position. Paul tried to draw Alex forward into attacking first by trying to circle him, but Alex refused to move. Leah watched, confused, wondering what Alex was doing.

The circling thing went on for a while, with Alex becoming more of a rock and Paul getting more frustrated. Paul lunged and retreated, growled, and feinted some punches. Alex still didn't move. Finally Paul resorted to some dirt catcalls.

"Why aren't you doing anything Alex? Are you a scaredy cat?" Paul called mockingly, while Colin and Brady chuckled. Leah shot them a quelling look. Alex said nothing.

"Ooh, wittle ol' Alex doesn't wanna take on the big bad wolf. I prowmise I won't bite… too hard," Paul taunted, trying to get a rise. Still Alex stood in a relaxed position.

"Wow, Leah, you've got yourself a man here. He knows how to win a fight doesn't he. Too bad he can't…" Paul never got to finish what he was saying. Being too distracted by talking to Leah, he hadn't even been able to react to the swift kick Alex gave him, which caused him to land on his behind.

"You were saying?" Alex said with a small smile, standing over Paul. Paul just looked up into his face and grinned.

"Hey, can you help me up bro, I think I pulled something," Paul asked politely, holding up his hand for assistance. Leah grimaced, knowing what was coming next. As predicted, Alex reached out grabbed Paul's hand, ready to help him up. However, instead of Paul coming up, Alex came down, pulled into a roll by Paul. Now Paul was standing over Alex, grinning.

From there on out it became a full blown brawl. Alex shot up from the ground and swiftly got ahold of Paul's leg, twisting it oddly. Paul yelled in pain, but didn't go down. Instead he grabbed the back of Alex's shirt and hauled him up. They both went down in a heap, legs and arms flailing. Paul got Alex in a headlock, but Alex countered by rolling onto his back and smashing Paul against the ground. Then Alex would pin down Paul's arms, but would forget his legs, leaving Paul free to kick Alex off.

The wrestling match went on for several minutes, neither side gaining an advantage. All of the Pack was there now, and Quil and Embry were taking bets. Leah just rolled her eyes when they asked for hers. There was a lot of hooting and hollering for each person, with a cheer going up every time one of them would sway the advantage.

After a good ten minutes, Alex pinned Paul down, and Jacob eagerly, and loudly, counted to five. The match was over, with Alex being the victor. There was a slight hesitation of surprise, but then fierce cheers erupted from the crowd. It swelled towards the two panting men, getting louder, each person good naturedly demanding their money. Leah chuckled at the sight of Alex being pulled into a rough embrace by Paul, and getting hearty claps on the back. She knew Alex would be sore tonight. As it was, Alex had to limp over to her.

"Hey," Alex yelled, still caught up in the adrenaline.

"Hey, yourself. Those were some pretty nifty moves," Leah said humorously.

"Well… I try," Alex said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Obviously not very hard," Leah mumbled under her breath. Alex heard her anyway.

"Ouch, that hurt. I think I'm going to need some Aloe Vera for that burn," he said laughing and rubbing his arm mockingly,

"And some ice for that bruise," Leah said threateningly.

"What bruise," Alex asked, stumped for the moment.

"The one I'm about to give you," she replied cheekily. Then she took a swing at his arm, before darting away.

"Oh man, you're gonna pay for that," she heard Alex yell. Leah shrieked and ran faster. Soon she heard heavy brething behind her, and knew that Alex was catching up. All of a sudden a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her to a grinding halt. She kicked and screamed for him to let her go, but he just stood there, his arms an impenetrable cage.

"What should I do for that nasty little thing back there," Alex wondered out loud.

"I have a grand idea. Let me go?" Leah asked, part hopeful, part resigned. Alex just grinned in response. Leah sighed, wondering what was coming next.

"Ah, the perfect idea, " Alex said impishly, before picking hre up and throwing her over his shoulder. Leah beat on his shoulder and kicked and squirmed to get out of his grasp, to no avail. She saw Jacob and Seth staring at her in amazement. She just huffed, then sent them a little wave. All of a sudden both of them burst into laughter, and she tried to turn around to see what made them crack up like that, but she couldn't see past Alex's enormous head.

"Hold your breath," Alex said quickly, before launching Leah into the air. Leah took a deep breath and plugged her nose right as her behind hit the cold salty ocean. She sank to the ground before powerfully kicking up off the ocean floor. Her head broke the surface, and she gasped and sputtered.

"Alex… Alex… help, I can't swim," she cried, before drifting under. Immediately Alex took off into the water, and dove to reach Leah. He searched on the bottom with his hands, but he couldn't find her. He came back up to take a breath when he heard something behind him. He spun around, coming face to face with Leah.

"Sucker," she yelled in his face, before dunking him. Then she took off swimming, only to be caught by another pair of strong arms. Leah screeched in suprise. Colin lifted her above his head, and threw her the Brady.

"Catch," he yelled, chortling. Brady let her hit the water before scooping her into his arms. He then tossed her to Seth.

"Seth, I swear to God, if you don't stop…" Leah started threateningly.

"You'll what… ground me?" Seth teased, before flipping her over his shoulder. Not to be out done, Leah grabbed his leg under the water, and pulled it out from underneath him. Seth went down. Only two to go.

Colin saw her swimming towards him, and he tried to run away in fear, but Leah was faster, and she shot up out of the water, tackling Colin around the waste. They both went down with a splash. Leah shot up to the surface, leaving Colin sputtering behind her. She saw Brady watching her intently, waiting for her to strike. Leah decided to try a different tactic with him.

"I'll let you off only if you play me in a game of chicken," Leah said, offering a compromise. Brady looked at her warily before agreeing.

"Seth! Seth! Get your little soggy ass over here. We're playing chicken," Leah yelled to her brother. Instantly Seth was at her side.

"Down," she instructed, and willingly Seth went under the water so Leah could climb on his shoulders. Once she settled her weight, Seth stood up out of the water, and they turned around to face their adversaries.

Of course Brady was partnered with Alex. Alex shot her a cheeky grin as he went under so Brady could scramble up. Both teams moved into slightly deeper water, as Colin refereed. Brady and Leah eyed each other as Seth and Alex drifted closer.

"One… two… three," Colin yelled, and Leah and Brady lunged for one another.

* * *

A/N 2: I'm not a fan of bottom chapter notes, but this little problem needs to be addressed. So I've had around 2,000 reads, but only less than 30 reviews. That is a little pathetic. Please review, it really helps me to keep writting. The lack of response is a little discouraging. Thanks!


	6. Stormy, Stormy Night

A/N: Sorry this took forever to update, but I unfortunately cannot devote all of my time to writting. On top of that, I almost went blind due to 3 scratches on my cornea, so... yeah, please understand.

A/N 2: I don't really like this chapter, but it is necessary for all the future chapters, it's kind of like a lead in, so please bear with it! Thanks!

Alpha ch. 6

Stormy, Stormy Night

_"One… two… three," Colin yelled, and Leah and Brady lunged for one another._

Leah sighed, content in Alex's arms, as they both watched the embers burn down on the bonfire. Earlier today, after winning the chicken fight, Leah had started a game of volley ball, which Seth and Jared won. Then she had gone to help Jacob get the s'mores and hot dogs ready. She remembered their conversation quizzically.

_"Leah," Jacob called. Leah jogged over to him, looking at him questioningly. "Will you give me a hand with this fire?" Jacob asked not so subtly. Leah wondered what Jacob was doing, but decided to play along, and went about setting up a tepee out of the fire wood. She paused her work for a moment to enjoy watching Alex play Ultimate Frisbee with Paul, Jared, Seth, Colin, Brady, Quil, and Embry. The significant others in the Pack's life had decided to come at night, each with their own reasons. So Leah was the only woman among nine men. It was a scary place to be. She caught Jacob staring at her._

_"What?" Leah asked, shifting uncomfortably._

_"Do you love him?" Jacob asked, bluntly. Leah blinked in surprise. That hadn't been what she was expecting._

_"What?" she asked stalling for time. Jacob just stared at her._

_"Oh, well, I don't know," Leah admitted sheepishly. At Jacob's raised eyebrow, she rushed to explain. _

_"I know that I imprinted on him and all, but I learned from Quil that imprinting doesn't mean instantaneous, unconditional, romantic love. I would willingly give my life for Alex, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a commitment. I think I just want to take it slow, and give it time to sink in, if you know what I mean," Leah explained. Jacob just nodded at her._

_"What makes you ask?" she asked, confused. Jacob wasn't known for long talks about feelings._

_"I just wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid. Leah, seriously, I've never seen you so… content, happy, or just plain young, as you have been in this last week. The changes are incredible, and well, I don't want you going back to the way you were. I just needed to make sure that you knew where you two were," Jacob told her. She gave a low laugh._

_"Don't worry dear brother, I'm not planning on letting this one go," she said, and turned around in time to watch Alex make a spectacular dive for the Frisbee._

Sitting here in Alex's arms, she realized that this was really happening. Nothing could part them now. She snuggled closer, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. Instead of a soft kiss like she was expecting, she felt Alex tense up. She cricked her head back to look at him.

"What is it?" Leah asked, concerned.

"Nothing, it's just… do you remember, in the parking lot, when I said something didn't feel right?" Alex asked, and at her nod he went on, "Well, I have that feeling again. Something's coming. I don't know when, where, or how, but there is defiantly something in the air," Alex whispered. Leah nodded slowly, thinking it through. Leah herself couldn't see or feel anything except Alex, so she called across to Embry. He looked at her lazily before meandering over.

"I hope this is important. My marshmallow was almost perfect," Embry whined. Leah rolled her eyes, before sitting up.

"Listen to me Embry, this is serious. Do you feel anything… different, or unordinary. Smell or see anything," she asked intensely. Embry stared hard at her, trying to determine her intentions, before straightening up, and gazing around. He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed a few time before bringing his gaze back to her. He shook his head no.

Leah's forehead crinkled in puzzlement. The stiffness in Alex's position told her he felt uneasy, but she wondered why anyone else couldn't feel it.

"Don't worry about it. Let whatever happens happen. We can deal with whatever is out there," Leah told Alex candidly. He stared down at her, concerned.

"I have a feeling that this is bigger than us," he told her softly. Leah nodded, wondering what she could do to ease his tension.

"I'll post extra guards tonight, see if we can't catch anything. How about that?" she asked. Alex still looked worried, but he nodded anyway. Leah sighed and relaxed against Alex's broad chest. She picked up his hand and began rubbing soothing circles against his palm. She traced his life line, and then every other line she could see. Slowly she trailed her fingers lightly up and down his arm. Eventually, she felt him relax against her more and more. Alex laid his head against her shoulder, and they both stared across the flames.

Leah noticed Jacob and Melissa sitting with one another, Melissa in Jacob's lap. Quil was quietly talking to Paul, and Jared was roasting a marshmallow for Kim. Colin and Brady were having a contest to see who could eat the most hot dogs, and Seth was texting on his phone to some girl he had started seeing. Embry was trying to tune his guitar and kept shooting looks to Brady for him to quiet down. Leah smiled at her family, glad that Alex could be here for this.

Just when Leah had started to drift to sleep, she heard Embry begin to sing a familiar song. She sat up to be able to listen better.

_Embry has a nice voice. I wonder why I didn't notice earlier. _Leah thought quizzically. After all, she had heard Embry sing before, but she didn't remember liking the music so much. Leah snuggled back into Alex's chest, enjoying the rhythmic cadence of Embry's voice and began to drift off again.

What seemed like moments later, she felt someone gently try to shake her awake.

"Seth, shut up and let me sleep," Leah muttered, still mostly unconscious. The shaking persisted. "Go away… I mean it, damn it. I'm tired," Leah growled, slightly more awake, but fighting consciousness. Still, the person was persistent. "Fine! I'm up, now what is the goddamn emergency?" Leah yelled.

Alex clamped a hand over her mouth. Leah, still trying to become oriented after her nap, bit his hand. Hard. Alex was too focused too notice.

"Leah, be still and listen. Do you hear that?" Alex asked furtively. Leah sighed in exasperation, thinking he was just paranoid. However she obediently cocked an ear and listened, slapping Alex's hand away irritably. After a moment of pure silence, she got ready to turn back to Alex to tell him where to shove his hearing, when Leah noticed something. There was pure silence. She listened harder, trying to find a natural sound. All she could hear were snores and quiet breathing. There were no gulls in the lightening sky. The fire didn't crackle, no birds chirped. There wasn't even a breeze. Most noticeable however, was the fact that there were no waves. The tide wasn't coming in or going out. Nothing was crashing against the rocks. The sand laid still. Absolute, pure silence.

Leah scrambled up, worried. Alex was right behind her. Slowly, and cautiously, she made her way toward the beach. When she got to the shoreline she poked her toe in the water. Little ripples danced out from the center point of her toe. She drew it back and splashed some water. It made a splashing sound, and acted like water. Leah drew her eyebrows down, puzzled.

"What do you suppose this is?" she asked, gesturing towards the ocean.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Alex replied staring at the ocean in frustration.

"I keep feeling… something. I don't know what it is quite, but it's making me edgy. Something is going to happen," Alex said, almost to himself. Suddenly he snapped his gaze up and met hers. "We need to get out of here. Now!"

Leah didn't ask questions, she just nodded and sprinted back towards the pack. She started nudging everyone within reach of her feet. "Alright everyone, up and at 'em! We gotta go. Time to move out. NOW!" Leah yelled, when nobody responded to her at first. Immediately, Jacob was at her side, as was Embry.

"Look at the water," Leah demanded. Both looked, and after a moment Jacob turned pale and went to find Melissa. Embry took a little longer.

"Oh my god," was all he said before running to pack everything up. Seconds later Alex ran up to them, panting.

"Leah, I think we're out of time," he said simply, pointing towards the sky. Leah gasped at what she saw there.

The clouds were swirling into a thick dark wall. The sky was turning an inky black, tinged with puce green and violent purple. She would've said 'tornado,' but it was much too big and fast to be a tornado. It was as if the sky was collecting itself into a central point a little ways off the coast.

Leah took a shuddering breath, trying to clear her mind of the panic. A sharp smell cut through the haze in her mind. It was acrid and harsh, like a bunch hot spices mixed with concentrated chlorine. It burned her nose and clouded her senses. She stared at Jacob who shrugged.

"What in the hell is that smell?" Leah asked him. Jacob shrugged, but sniffed, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"It seems to be coming in with the wind. I think it might be coming from… the clouds or something," Jacob said uncertainly. Leah stared at the darkening sky, and a shudder ripped through her. Something terrible was going to happen. She picked up her pace, hurrying to her car.

All of a sudden the wind picked up and threw her to the ground. Leah struggled up off the hard concrete and looked around. Everybody that she could see was either on the ground, or grabbing on to something.

"Out of time. Out of time," She heard Alex mutter furiously beside her. Leah struggled to clear her head, to figure out what to do, but she couldn't think straight. All she could concentrate on was the stench. She shook her head to no avail. All of a sudden Alex stood up straight.

"Listen! Get off the road! Go to the ditch," he yelled, trying to be heard over the rising wind. Another gust of wind blew her over. The rain started then, coming down in torrents. Everywhere it touched skin, it burned a little. Within seconds she was completely soaked to the bone. She contemplated phasing, but almost as if he read her thoughts, Alex grabbed her arm.

"Nobody phase. It'll only get worse," he cried to the pack. Over the hood of the car she could see Seth and Colin nodding, struggling against the wind. They made their way to the side of the road and hunkered down. Brady followed a little behind them constantly slinging water off his eyes to no avail. All the others were having more trouble. Jared was trying to carry Kim, and Jacob had Melissa. Quil was no where to be found and Embry looked as though he were bleeding. She started towards Embry, the closest, first. Alex grabbed her arm again.

"Get off the road," he told her, pushing her back slipping a little on the wet concrete. Leah shook her head furiously. She wouldn't leave until everyone was safe.

She started towards Embry again, and motioned for Alex to go the Jared's aid. The wind was raging wildly and trees were beginning to sway dangerously. It whipped around her, pulling at her clothes, her hair, reaching for her, almost as though it were trying to take her down. She reached Embry and crouched down. Since the wind was such a loud cacophony, she motioned, hoping he could see her through the black sheet of water, asking what was wrong.

Embry pointed at his knee, and she saw that his leg was twisted all wrong. Obviously it was broken. She nodded grimly, motioning him to get on his knees. She dropped to all fours as well and slowly they crawled off the side of the road. She held up his leg with her hand while he crawled, trying to ease the stress on it. When they got to the ditch, Seth and Brady helped him down, and she told Colin to try and stabilize his leg.

By then, the sky had gone totally black. Normally she could see in the dark, but this darkness was unnatural, it totally clouded her eyes, and she could barely see anything. She started back to the road, trying to remember where she had seen Jacob and Melissa last. To get out of the direct path of the wind, she dropped to her stomach and crawled to the center of the road. Pieces of concrete were flying up, breaking from the road. She couldn't see any of the cars, and Leah assumed that they had all been blown away.

The howling of the wind filled her ears, making her light headed, along with the smell. She found it very hard to keep going. The only thing that made her keep pushing against the violent storm was the knowledge that part of her family was in danger. She was exhausted, and her muscles were screaming at her to quit, but she couldn't, not yet.

When she reached the middle of the road, she saw Jacob and Melissa. Melissa was huddled against his chest, and Jacob's arms were around her a death grip. His muscles were straining, trying to hold her to him. They were sitting right in the middle of the road, water pooling around them like a waterfall. She slithered over to him and touched his shoulder. He jerked his around, tensing, and not relaxing when he saw her. His eyes were full of worry.

"Let me hold Melissa while you cover us," she screamed in his ear. At first he refused to giver her up, but after a look in her eyes, he relinquished her to Leah. Leah put her arms around Melissa, admiring the girl's bravery. Melissa didn't look frightened at all, just determined, as she made the switch. There was a scary moment when neither Jacob nor Leah had her, and she was almost blown over, but Leah grabbed onto her in the nick of time. Jacob moved to lumber over them both, trying to block the full force of the wind. Leah made her way slowly towards the edge of the road, with Melissa clinging onto her like a monkey. Leah felt something sharp and painful graze her arm, but Leah she just grunted and blocked the pain. When they reached the side of the road, she dropped Melissa down and turned to go back for Alex and Jared and Kim.

Jacob grabbed her arm and shook his head at her. She got ready to tell him to let go, when she saw Jared coming through the darkness carrying Kim, with Alex behind them like a shield. None of them looked injured, but she couldn't be sure through the intense blackness. Jared handed Kim down to Jacob, before jumping into the ditch himself. Alex wasn't long to follow.

Leah scuttled over to Alex and wrapped her arms around him. She was shaking as hard as one of the trees. He looked down at her concerned, but Leah just shook her head, knowing anything she said wouldn't be able to be heard of the gale. She closed her eyes, and they both sank to the ground, Alex pulling her close. Leah tried to block out the screaming wind by concentrating solely on Alex's heartbeat.

_Thump…Thump…Thump_

Soon Leah got lost into the rhythm of it. She was so lost into her own thoughts that she didn't notice at first. But then she felt it, the wind wasn't tugging quite so hard at her clothes. The inky darkness became just a regular dark. The storm was slowly but surely turning into a regular storm. The rain was coming down a little bit quieter. As each minute ticked by, the storm got less and less intense. Soon the blackness faded into a soft grey, and the wind was just a gentle pulling. Leah sniffed and smelled nothing but saltwater. The storm was over.

Tenderly, Leah raised herself off the ground and cringed at what she saw. Debris was strewn everywhere. Trees had been pulled up by their roots, and broken shells and grasses littered the ground. Half the road had been destroyed, with chunks of concrete broken up here and there. There were pools of water, though she couldn't tell if they were fresh or seawater. Everything was completely trashed. Leah shuddered at the thought of what the town must look like.

Leah shook herself out of her stupor and stood up. She saw the others beginning to do the same. Alex was already standing. A little gentle breeze played with her hair, raising goosebumps. Leah looked down at Embry, who was still on the ground.

"Hey, you okay?" Leah asked. Embry thought for a moment then nodded.

"Yeah, though I'm pretty sure my leg is still broken. I think it needs to be reset as well," He replied with a grimace. Leah nodded. She then turned to Colin

"Go get Brady. I want you two to find Quil. Tell him to meet us here at the beach. Then I want you to check up on the town. Do not phase though. Not until we figure out what has happened," Leah commanded. Colin nodded and loped over to Brady. She then turned to Jared and Jacob.

"How are they?" she asked softly. Both understood who she was talking about.

"Melissa is tired and more than slightly shaken, but unharmed. She's being brave. She's so strong," Jacob replied, looking down at him imprint, who was curled into his side, and obviously had no intention of moving,

"Kim, bless her, is going crazy," at Leah's look he continued, "She is angry. Keeps cursing different people out. First it was God, then Mother Nature, then God, then different mythical beings. She'll be okay," Jared replied with a chuckle, looking over at his wife, who was busy kicking some of the debris around, and muttering under her breath. Leah let out a sigh of relief. So far, none of her family was seriously hurt.

"Leah, what is that?" Alex cried in alarm. He grabbed her arm and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She looked over to see what was causing her pain. A long gash starting at her forearm and traveling all the up to her shoulder was bleeding. She looked at it curiously. It should've healed already. Leah just shrugged her shoulders, wincing slightly.

"No big deal, it'll heal soon," she said caustically. Alex looked at her doubtfully before ripping a piece of his shirt and tying it around her arm.

"Thanks," she told him gratefully. Now it was her turn to inspect him for injuries. She looked him over, even walking around him, before determining he was just fine.

"Alright everyone. This is a big mess we're in. Lets gather around up on the road. We need to figure some things out," she said, taking control. Slowly everyone made their way out of the ditch, and onto the road. She was hoisting herself up, with Alex helping her, when Brady came running, out of breath. Immediately Leah felt her hackles rise in alarm.

"Brady, what's wrong?" she demanded, rising to her feet and taking him by the shoulders.

"Leah… I'm sorry… your mom," he spit out between gasping breaths.


End file.
